The Florilegium is a collection of files assembled by The Honorable Lord Stefan li Rous. The information hails from various sources, starting from when Stefan first joined the SCA in 1989. This includes files from the Rialto newsgroup (rec.org.sca), from the old fidonet medieval echo conferance area, from various mail lists, posts in various Facebook groups, as well as articles submitted directly to Stefan by their authors. Be aware of “rabbit holes”… many an artisan found more than they were looking for after finding their way to the Florilegium research vaults!
What’s a “Florilegium”? Literally, it means “a gathering of flowers.” Florilegia were collections of choice tidbits (from Ovid, Aristotle, various popes, church scholars, etc), arranged topically.
A “Florilegivm Insulæ Sanctorvm” from 1624
Typically, a florilegium is huge, encyclopedic, and contains only choice selections from particular works. For example, Ovid’s Metamorphoses would be too long to include in its entirety and might suggest some of the wrong ideas (from a Church viewpoint), so only those works that offer clear exegetic or moralistic examples would likely be included. Thus, a florilegium would probably *not* include Nestor’s account of the battle of the Lapiths — the tale pokes fun at Nestor, at old men attempting to claim wisdom solely based upon age, and (less directly) at Homer. A florilegium probably *would* contain the tales of Midas, however, because they provide lessons on the evils of greed, pride, and gossip.
Stefan, on the other hand, is interested in the whole of what the SCA has to offer, and is always on the look out for new articles. If you have written an article that would be of interest to others in the SCA, please send it to him for possible inclusion in the Florilegium. A&S documentation and class handouts often work well, and he is especially interested in research papers submitted as A&S entries.
I hope you find these files useful, interesting, amusing or all three.
Honorable Lord Stefan li Rous (Mark S. Harris)
The Florilegium can be found on the web at: http://www.florilegium.org
Contact him directly at: stefanlirous@gmail.com
Here are the new files for this month:
- Period wet nurses. (for nursing babies)
- “Octo-Lutefisk” by Gwyn Chwith ap Llyr. Roasted Octopus treated with lye.
- “Fukujinzuke (red pickles for curry)” by HL Bronwyn ni Mhathain.
- “Waxed Cloth Covers” by Lady Marie Hélène of the New Forest.
- “Zopfe: German Braids (False Braids/Artificial Braids) – History, How to Make, and How to Wear” by Baroness Genoveva von Lubeck.
- Licorice root.
- “Why I Fight” by Colyne Stewart.
- “Batik” is an Indonesian word for wax-resist dyeing. Not period in Europe but done in Asia.
This month I have only one updated file:
- Period herb books. Modern editions.
For the holiday season, here are a couple of more files:
- 2/ 2/15 “History of Eggnog” by Nanna Rognvaldardottir of Iceland.
- 12/23/16 Spiced cider and ale drinks. Traditions.
- 3/10/12 “The Yule Log” by Lady Katharine of Caithness.
- 2/22/15 “Medieval Toys You Can Make” by Aelflaed of the Weald (now Dame Joan Sutton).
- 1/24/11 Period ham. Modern sources. Recipes.
- 6/12/09 Period fruitcakes. Includes Recipes.
Image of a “Florilegivm” from Mairekennedybooks; A Passion for books: The Gilbert Library Posted on January 29, 2017
